They called him Will
by equine02
Summary: There is no greater gift than for a man to lay down his life for his friends.


**Hello wonderful readers! This is for the Billy Nelson fans out there! Please R &R! Tissue alert! This could be viewed otherwise, but strongly leans toward death fic. No slash, just comradely love. It helps if you have watched the episode "The Celebrity" to understand part of the conversation.**

 **Disclaimer: never have owned them, probably never will. It's really too bad, Saunders would look so neat in a tux... A girl can dream... Oh, PM me if there is an episode where he does wear a tux, that would be a dream come true!**

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 **John 15:13**

I know it right away. What I see in his eyes, when he looks at me. As he struggles to talk to me. I knew as it happened, and I know now.

"Sarge," he looks alarmed, eyes widened. Breaths are short and sound wet and tired, laboriously executed. "I didn't- you aren't hit are ya?" he coughs. I glance over at the dead Kraut, rifle still smoking in hand as he lays sprawled out on the ground. My own gun feels hot and heavy in my hands, several of its bullets having been used to take down the enemy.

"Nah, Billy, I'm fine. See? You saved my life. Easy, easy." I push the anxious boy down. Billy blinks.

"Sarge…." His eyes. So afraid, childlike almost. So tired, and done with war and fighting, constant barrage, constant death, "I'm scared."

"You'll be okay. Don't try and move, Doc will be here soon. Don't talk."

"Sarge, I wannto…" his words slur, "wannto see Mother. And wannto see my kid brother…. Wannto-aghhh!" he writhes. I am trying to quiet him, "Oh, I want to see home, 'gain, and Evelyn, and my Dad!" he was crying, "m'scared to die."

"You're not going to die, Billy." I feel a tear on my cheek, running down the side of my nose. Billy's dad had died months ago. "You'll see, everything will be fine. And I bet you'll get one of them fine purple hearts, and a one-way ticket stateside. Lucky duck. And, of course, you'll get to see everybody again. Don't worry, you're gonna see all those guys back home, and they'll buy you drinks and you'll get to play-act like your side hurts you, just to show off. And all those girls will follow you… course you'll be with Evelyn, but it's a dandy thought. It'll be swell, just wait. Doc will patch you up nice and tight, and you'll get yourself back on your feet in no time. You'll be able to tell the story to your kid brother."

"You were...listenin' that night? With Littlejohn? When Packer was here?" Billy's face is covered in sweat, and blood flows from his side with horrible abundance.

"Yeah. And I think it'll be just like that, just like you said it was for your friend."

"You do?" his face becomes taught with pain. Billy is fading faster than I would have liked. In truth, I did not want him to be fading at all.

"Yup." I brush Billy's hair out of his eyes.

"But Sarge," a tear slides out of the corner of Billy's eye, "Hurts. Bad." He coughs again, blood this time.

"I know it does." I have to lean close to the kid to hear his next words.

"W-hats… your first name…" he whispers. "I never knew it. Me… an' an' t'he guys…. Always called you… 'Sarge.' Wanna know th' name of the man…. I died for…" he grins weakly, still obviously halfway through the door of sanity and delirium, "not that im braggin' or anythin'."

I think my heart has broken. "Chip. My name's Chip. Billy?"

"Mmmm?"

"What did your kid brother call you?" I have to keep the kid talking, keep him awake. By now I've screamed for the medics several times now. I'm more afraid now than I have ever been, afraid for this innocent life which is going so quickly.

"Will. Thas' what he called me. Will. He's, uh… ten, I think… don' r'member. Gotta write'a'letter…" his eyes begin to roll up into his head, and I snap to attention, slapping his face wildly.

"Billy, wake up, you can't sleep! Billy, can I call you Will?"

"Yeah…" he exhales harshly, going out of focus again.

"Will!" I slap him harder.

His eyes are suddenly very focused.

"Chip…? Can I call you that? C'n I call you Chip?" he asks.

I nod.

"Chip, you're eyes are very blue…." He smiles, all attentions suddenly on my face, especially my eyes, "Chip, m'not afraid anymore."

Then I know, the Billy he was is gone.

I know.


End file.
